Wind Running
by Riverly-Melody
Summary: When Reborn arrives at the Sawada house to place the title of a Vongola boss candidate on an unsuspecting boy, he expects a useless teen. He wasn't disappointed but why does the boy disappear to the roof of the house and stare at the roofscape around? And why was Dame-Tsuna clutching his leg like that? One that seemed to have a limp? (Parkour Tsuna)
1. Freedom

**Wind Running**

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><p><strong>Full Summary<strong>: Tsuna is thirteen and is an ordinary teenager with ordinary problems, ordinary laziness, and a sad case of being a constant target for bullies for the past year. When a certain hitman arrives at the doorstep of the Sawada household to place a hell-heavy responsibility of the Tenth Vongola candidate on the unsuspecting boy, Reborn expected as such. But the way the useless teen constantly disappeared to the roof of the house and stared at the roofscape around came as a surprise. And why was Dame-Tsuna clutching his leg like that? One that seemed to have the slightest of limps when the boy walked?

The story unravels, the past comes to light, and those around Tsuna find that broken wings are invisible and hard to heal. But if one discovers a way to mend them...

One might witness something _breath taking_.

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><p><strong>Warnings<strong>: Slightly AU, PTSD!Tsuna, possibly OOC Tsuna, Reborn's twisted morals, OCs (passing and not), parkour, free running, language, and a fair share of (epic) memories.

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><p><em>The wind gushed by, a heavenly music to his ears that he's been following for so long now.<em>

_"He's here!"_

_He didn't wear any shoes, albeit he never does. He can feel the air under his feet so much better without them._

_"Yes! I sooo wanted to see him in action."_

_It's the one thing that always lightens him up – something he looks forward too._

_"It's Kaze no Neko!"_

_Running doesn't mean cowardice._

_"Oooh, look at that! The famous quadruple backflip from one hand! The technique is so smooth - I can barely see him touch the ground."_

_Because if there was one thing he hated, it was fighting._

_"The speed, the speed! No wonder everyone knows about him – it's like he's not even- not even human!"_

_...But what he hates even more is being restrained._

_"He really does move like the wind with the grace of a cat. Kaze no Neko indeed..."_

_He always wants, always _needs_ to be free. It's what he cannot live without._

_"Geez, he's gone already! How in the _world_ did he climb that wall without another one to lean on?! Just like a-"_

_But now he isn't free._

_Not anymore._

Sawada Tsunayoshi jerked awake, feeling his heart beat rapidly against his ribcage. He looked around wildly, ghosts of bright lighted buildings and neon-equipped runners scattering to reach the given destination with as much grace and speed as they could perform flashing in front of his golden brown eyes. Realizing moments later that it was really all just dream, his eyes dimmed to a dull color.

The feeling was just like yesterday – the adrenalin rushing through him with that wonderful feeling of pure freedom as he flipped and ran and jumped and vaulted and flung himself past any obstacle standing in his way using only his body, lots of hard training and a suddenly discovered talent for covering distances deemed impossible.

Tsuna felt himself shudder and he took a deep breath, sliding off the bed. He rubbed his forehead tiredly while he opened the window to let the night breeze in. He leaned on his hands, looking out of the second floor room. The brunette watched the empty streets and dark houses and those wonderful walls and roofs and opportunities-

_No. I will not. Not now. I can't, and I know it._

_...It still hurts._

_But it was mostly my fault after all._

Tsuna closed his eyes and swung a foot over the windowsill, feeling the light breeze ruffle his hair gently.

A stray thought, both wanted and unwanted wandered through his empty mind as he looked at the wall between his house and the street, one he could so easily jump on from the window-

The brunette hissed as he felt his right leg spasm and cripple.

_"...Sawada-san, I'm afraid your son won't be able to run or jump the way he did anymore."_

The teen closed his eyes, teeth grinding hard.

_"To be frank, it's a miracle that he can still walk, given the amount of places his bones were broken. I'm very sorry to say this but on the bright side, there are still many other joys in life. He's only twelve – he'll get over it. I'm sure he'll find another occupation."_

A gust of wind carried away memory-filled tears.

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><p><strong>AN:** Did the suspense get to you? :3 Or it wasn't suspensive at all? Sorry, I kind of wanted to get the plot bunny out of the system. *cough cough I might regret it later cough cough*. It's like a prologue, I guess, and I'm sort of writing the next chapter.

I'm also sorry for the confusing dump of things that I plan to untangle down the road.

(And I'm really sorry that this is so short - I didn't have enough time to make much more.)

Though I don't know if it's worth it, so please tell me if any of you lot would like to read this kind of fic.

The thing is, I always had a special spot in my heart for parkour and I was fascinated with it since I was, like, seven? I have nothing to do with it though, even if some moves and jumps helped big time when I played with my peers ^^

So, I kind of had a really epic dream where I was sitting on a building with a bunch of other people and this small person in a hood bounced right past us with a string of highly professional vaults and somehow, I was able to catch sight of a mop of brown hair which was how I instantly realized - even though I wasn't really surprised; you know how hard it is to be surprised in a dream - that it was Tsu-kun and when I woke up I was like 'Hey, why not? What if he was interested in such things too? He would look badass free-running.' so this is what came of it.

Oopsie.

But this fic will also have a reason for Tsuna's clumsiness. His past will be uncovered slowly, so yeah. There will also be (hopefully) a lot of badassness and epicness.

Please tell me if you'd like reading more of this!

Love, peace and cookies

River Melody

P.S. As always, cookies for my readers! *gives you a cookie*


	2. Is not a present

**Wind Running**

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><p>"Oi, Dame-Tsuna! What's up with the broody mood? Want us to brighten you up? <em>Literally<em>?"

Tsuna snapped out of his thoughts and his breath hitched as he turned around to see a group of clearly not good-intentional young men laughing in a mocking manner at the bad pun as they stood in the end of the street he had to go through to get to school.

_This is bad. Five, six, seven... And all healthy as bulls._

Tsuna contemplated on what was worse – taking chances by somehow getting past this obstacle or definitely getting bitten to death by Hibari if he was late. The decision was obvious and Tsuna lowered his head, sticking his hands in his pockets and fastening his walk, soon sprinting into a limping jog as he kept the biggest distance between himself and this company he could manage.

It was exactly a year since his run became broken.

"Oi oi, Dame-Tsuna! What's up with that? We just want ten or twenty punches, that's all! You should count yourself damn lucky – I feel good today."

The brunet jumped as he felt a hand clasp on his skinny shoulder, forcefully turning him around to face what he supposed was the leader. Large brown eyes widened as they darted behind the stinky-smelling boy, to the right of himself, to the left and even down in search of a way out.

There was a fire escape staircase roughly forty meters away and a wall with advantageous bars Tsuna could slip through with his small body unlike the burly older boys.

The third floor balcony and the high stone wall with small cracks he could stick his fingers in were out of question and he wouldn't be able to avoid all of the teens by running to the right.

Be he what he was before, this wouldn't have been a problem. There were buildings around Tsuna which were, once upon a time, all that he needed.

Now, however, he had to choose the closer wall and risk jerking away from the leader to get as much of a head start between himself and the leader of the gang to be able to reach the heavenly bars in time. He hoped they would be at least mildly surprised and that it would buy him a second or two, but that was too much to ask for.

_Come on, feet, come on! _

_...Why can't you remember how you did it before?_

Tsuna sprinted, putting most of his weight on his left leg, making the bigger weakness of his right leg obvious to anyone who cared to look.

_Just a bit... I still have my hands – I can make it! I'd even hand-walk but running is still the faster option._

Five steps were left when he felt his right leg suddenly paralyze, giving under the boy and he face planted into the solid asphalt.

The jeers of the gang behind, who slowed down after seeing Tsuna fall, and the particularly sneering tone caused a sharp pain to run through the brunet's chest. The pain he was getting used to but in the same time was not for the last year. The pain that was never present before he stopped running.

Fear.

"You're even clumsier than we thought! Such a pity you didn't let us punish you right away – there's no fucking way ten times will cut it now."

Tsuna scrambled away but it was futile now.

As he felt the blows land on him from various angles, letting out a scream when their boots collided with his right leg, he wondered absently about why he even thought he could make it out of this.

After all, his feet had long since forgotten how to run.

...

When he did arrive at the school – clothes ripped in several places, dirt still sticking to his hair and a bruise forming on his forehead with a split lip and an overall pathetic appearance – it was to see the prefect stand next to the gates to the school with an expecting look.

Tsuna approached and sharp grey eyes cut into his own dull brown ones like a knife, but unable to hold the gaze, the younger boy dropped his head in shame and awaited the punishment to come for being so late and coming to school in such a state with closed eyes.

The brunet missed the way Kyouya's lips twitched in a concealed emotion when the skylark saw the amount of bruises and most of all, the even worse limp than he remembered last time Tsunayoshi had come to school.

The very gang that just harmed Tsunayoshi was doomed to a horrendous fate the very second the raven-haired set his eyes on the small boy.

After waiting for a few seconds to see if the brunet would attempt to flee, the prefect almost – but of course he didn't – rolled his eyes and stormed up to the boy. He however stiffened when he saw Tsunayoshi tense up, clearly waiting for the strike. Roughly, he grasped the boy by the shoulder and shoved him to the gates, letting go just when Tsuna crossed the borderline.

The Sawada had looked up at him but instead of the predicted tonfas that would mean much pain, he saw the terrifying prefect just stand there, his arms crossed and his lips a thin line.

The utterly shocked eyes would make lesser men cry with sad tears but Kyouya was a carnivore and carnivores offered things proudly.

They stared at each other and after a while, Kyouya must have seen something in Tsuna's eyes that caused him to sigh and stalk up to the boy. Quietly, he leaned to the boy's ear and said.

"If you get to the doors, I'll let you go."

He heard the boy's breath hitch and saw his right leg visibly stiffen. So that was still too much.

"I will give you a five second advantage."

Tsunayoshi had looked at him and to the doors (of Heaven as it seems) and just faintly, Kyouya could see a shadow of hope glimmer in those brown eyes.

Good. Very good. He'd been trying to get that for the last year. Hibari could see the wheels turning in Tsunayoshi's head – either try his luck or be definitely bitten to death. Kyouya raised a tonfa to prove the last and that had thankfully sped up the wheel-turning process. The boy had bit his lip and then decided.

"H-hai, Hibari-senpai."

And after a curt nod, the boy was off – grace abandoned somewhere along the sidelines, and just a shadow of the former skill and fluency even if it was still evident that once upon a time, this boy was free of tire and not bound by gravity. The prefect counted exactly five seconds – he wasn't going to cut any slack; that would just be pity and Hibari Kyouya did _not_ take pity – and then shot after the boy who had already managed to somehow cover half the distance which was all thanks to the skill still present in his feet, though it was really saddening to see this when the skylark remembered how goddamn _beautiful_ it used to be.

He was quickly gaining on the boy though and he was about to grab the boy by the scruff of the neck – he wasn't really expecting Tsunayoshi to outrun him this time, not in the state he was right now even if he was trying to make the boy run for some time now – when suddenly, a strong gust of air from nowhere slammed into Kyouya, almost knocking him over if not for his steady stance. But that had been enough for the boy to shoot – well, limp further – and despite Hibari almost reaching after him, Tsuna jumped for his goal.

It was a desperate jump, more of a broken hop, and Kyouya could've easily knocked the boy to the ground but the raven-haired froze as the wind picked up again, and as if intentionally, gushed just past him and right at the brunet, tossing the light body of Tsunayoshi further as the boy reached forward.

When small fingers curled around the door handle, Hibari Kyouya smiled because the wind still loved this small boy – smiled because he saw ghosts of broken wings fade with the wind.

Tsunayoshi didn't even dare look at Hibari as he disappeared from view in the building.

...

Tsuna trudged up the stairs and quietly opened the door to his classroom. The teacher was very quick to notice and was about to scold him mercilessly when Tsuna stepped in hesitantly and he saw the state the boy was in. Feeling as if would regret saying as much as a word to the kicked pup- the _boy_, he just gestured to the vacant seat and was almost taken aback by the sheer gratefulness in the eyes of the most useless student of the school.

It didn't, however, save Tsuna from the snickers and sly remarks from the other students.

Completely ignoring them – which could've been a mistake since he almost tripped on one student's intentionally stuck-out foot – he took the seat and turned to look into the window.

All he could think about was one thing.

He could feel it again.

Very far away and he will have to work to get to it by getting past very hard obstacles, but he will clear them all because it was now there, unlike for the whole past year, gleaming in the horizon.

The boy was ready to thank Hibari all over but he knew it wouldn't get him a good reaction from the prefect and would most likely ruin whatever balance there was between them.

But still.

Sawada Tsunayoshi could feel his freedom again and that was more than he could've ever asked for.

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><p><strong>AN:** Um. Hey!

*tries to dodge a rotten tomato and fails*

...Er, sorry. I didn't mean to not update this in two month, but I've looked at what plot I had on this story and trashed it all because it was utter crap. So, I decided to make a different plot from scratch and hopefully, this isn't very bad. I just know myself and if I continue putting this off, it will mean I won't ever get the courage and muse to write what comes next. I really hope this didn't ruin everything.

Please review? Frankly, I don't know if this is worth continuing because I might just loose some readers here...

Though if it helps, the next chapter is supposed to be about how Reborn comes into the picture.

Love, peace and cookies

River Melody

P.S. Fresh-baked cookies for free!*hands out cookies to everybody*

P.P.S. As a last note, please tell me if I should re-write this. I really want you to enjoy this so please write if I can continue with this or if I should delete this chapter and start over again?


	3. It is earned

**Wind Running**

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><p>Reborn was thoughtful.<p>

Well, it wasn't his fault because despite being the number one hitman and unofficially, having in possession the best poker face of the twenty first century, he too was sometimes a bit surprised.

Well, more like shocked in this case, but he wouldn't admit that. No.

He'd arrived at the Sawada house as he was ordered by the Ninth and entered without a knock. He'd found two residents and concluded that one made heavenly food and the other was the clumsiest creature on the planet.

Because Sawada Tsunayoshi's falls off the stairs were really something considering his seeming outmost love for meeting the floor.

And so, mentally slightly gleeful at the perfect punching bag his student was, Reborn had woke up with a good mood which he lightened even more when he discovered the wonderful shrieks Dame-Tsuna made when 'gently' woken up. He would get to hear more of those, Reborn was certain of that and even more – he would make _sure _of that.

And then, the boy was scrambling into his clothes because he was about to be late and for some reason, he was particularly unwilling to be so. He said a quick 'good morning' to his mother who smiled back and he turned away before Reborn could take a good look at his face. He went out of the house with a toast in his mouth and a schoolbag under his arm, and Reborn had for the first time noticed the slight limp on his right foot – note to himself: find the reason behind it – and questioned why the boy, despite obviously knowing of his own clumsiness, was walking with his face looking up, at the sky, occasionally sliding over the roofs of the surrounding houses with a, for some reason, wistful gaze.

Reborn absently wondered why the boy looked as if he didn't belong on the ground.

He dismissed the thought however when he saw a girl round a corner and Tsuna was all drooling and blushing and a blubbering mess a mafia boss should never be.

And then the girl – Sasagawa Kyoko, a mix of ignorant cheerfulness with a big touch, or more like a full blow, of bubbliness and love for cute things – had come and left in a flurry of ever-present sparkles and coos of 'cute baby brothers' and Reborn turned to look at Dame-Tsuna who was looking after her with an air of a boy drowning in love.

Reborn smirked and asked Tsunayoshi why he hadn't confessed yet to which he got a rather strangely slitted look from the boy, and not wanting to spend any more precious time, the hitman took off Leon and with shadowed eyes, he aimed his gun at the boy. And fired.

And this was when he watched how the boy's somehow sharpened eyes darted from the gun to his surroundings, particularly at the wall and fences and roofs and everything around him, searching for an escape – for a way out.

This wasn't right – he was Dame-Tsuna, he should've been screeching by now, or at least trying to convince himself it was toy gun, or at the very least, flail his arms and do something useless like his nickname suggests.

But Reborn watched instead as Tsuna shifted his weight in an unpredictably graceful way and was about to sprint sideways and maybe, just maybe, even avoid the shot, but something happened and the grace had evaporated like dew in the morning sun, and the brunet's eyes widened as he struggled to move his suddenly frozen feet, the light in the golden brown dimming to nothingness.

The hitman saw the dawning realization on the boy's face, saw how Tsuna came to know that he wasn't going to make it and for some inexplicable reason, it was so heart-wrenching that even Reborn who was hard to the very core – _he was an assassin for God's sake!_ – felt something in his chest clench painfully.

Reborn saw the bullet imbed into the boy's forehead and of course, he knew that this would turn out okay and that the boy clearly regretted not confessing to Kyoko, but he still felt rather... vile for making the boy go through this. The sight of Tsuna's body colliding with the hard pavement with a deafening thud brought an entirely unrelated image of a winged creature being thrown onto the unforgiving ground with all the might gravity possesses and it physically hurt to watch those wings crumple to nothing.

And then the wind howled – why was there a wind when the prognosis clearly stated no wind today? and there wasn't any before – and it lashed out violently, the trees around eerily unmoving while Reborn could feel it whipping violently around Tsunayoshi. The Sun Arcobaleno knew he was witnessing something impossible because as if hearing the air cry, the boy was up again, a flame burning on his forehead in uncontrollable proportions.

Tsuna stood on both his feet and Reborn saw blazing orange in his eyes. The boy's eyes pierced through him impassively and for a moment, the hitman was convinced that Tsunayoshi was going to attack him but the boy just silently turned to face a wall as he flexed his feet and hands, as if they were new to him.

And before Reborn could wonder why, Tsunayoshi moved.

Reborn watched as the clumsy boy ran up to the wall, taking a big step, pulling himself up with his outstretched arm and sprinting along the wall, jumping through the air above the narrow streets with an easiness Reborn didn't know was even possible for one Tsuna's age. With a fluent flip off the railings at the end of the road, the brunet disappeared from the hitman's sight.

And so, Reborn was left quite thoughtful.

...

Tsuna stared as Kyoko-chan ran away and the crowd around him jeered with his nickname. He looked down at his feet and felt his right leg hurt like hell from the distance he ran because even if he was for some reason able to run without limping, it was depressing that it was nothing like how he did it before. Absolutely nothing. Tsuna tried to think that it was because he didn't warm up properly and that he'd have to work for his past freedom – he'd have to earn it back, and never take it for granted like before. He couldn't understand why he'd run like that – he was just standing, his leg suddenly cramping at the most vital moment, and then he felt an explosion of adrenalin in his veins and he felt very concentrated on confessing to Kyoko-chan that he didn't even deign necessary asking Reborn about why the _fuck_ he shot him in the forehead. Somewhere, he could feel Hibari-senpai approaching to break down the commotion.

_Right._

_...Right._

_Ri- oh God. It hurts _so much.

Tsuna's eyes stung and he felt like shit and this was all so- so-

But, like always for the past year, it was his problem alone and so Tsuna sucked up all the raw emotions he felt – because yes, it was damn painful to have had his leg back and he still couldn't run for real in those five minutes and now his foot was even worse than a week ago when he got beaten up again.

Tsuna's head hung and he slowly turned away from the scorning faces and then broke into a pitiful half-jog, heading out of here, away from here.

When Hibari swept into the scene, he caught sight of a mop of brown hair in the distance and a crowd of sneering students, laughing at pathetic Dame-Tsuna. He could see the limp even worse than the one a week before and even from here, he felt that the boy was on the verge of breaking down.

And he had just one glimpse of Tsunayoshi's eyes.

Everything Kyouya worked on – the light in Tsunayoshi's eyes that meant a challenge, the incredibly small but still present spring to his step, and the slowly mending wings that even the wind rejoiced.

All of it snuffed out like a small flame.

Hibari went on a rampage no one would forget in the close future.

...

Reborn couldn't find him.

Tsuna was supposed to be at the school gates but it seemed that he had already left, without going into the school.

The hitman searched fruitlessly through Namimori and he just couldn't find the boy! Exactly how well did Tsuna know his town if he was able to avoid_ Reborn _all this time? The hitman knew that the bullet would've taken a toll on the brunet and considering Tsuna's limp – which was a question yet to be answered – it wasn't going to be pretty.

And he still slipped through his fingers like that? It was already evening!

Meanwhile, a part of his mind was analyzing what he saw earlier today. The Dying Will Bullet removed limiters from one's body which was precisely what happened to Tsuna and which was the reason his limp disappeared. Meaning, this showed an extent of the boy's physical state – it wasn't as bad as Reborn first thought.

A nagging thought crossed his mind and the hitman couldn't understand why Tsuna looked so pained when he ran.

Reborn walked sniffed angrily and stormed down the street, passing by the Sawada household.

He stopped and squinted.

...What was Dame-Tsuna doing on the roof?

Reborn sighed mentally and headed into the house.

The scene that greeted the number one hitman was not one he had expected but not all that strange considering the much more eventful day before.

His useless student was sitting on the very edge of the roof, left leg swinging off while the boy held the other one close to his chest, arms wrapped around it in an almost protective manner. From Reborn's point of view, he could see Dame-Tsuna's back hunched in on itself. It seemed that the boy was mesmerized by the sight lying beyond his house for reasons still obscured – _how annoying _– to the Sun Arcobaleno because he couldn't see the boy's face that was hidden by the strands of the gravity-forsaken hair of his.

Apparently, judging from Tsuna's completely relaxed pose, this was supposed to be normal for the brunet.

Unnoticed – honestly, he should teach Baka-Tsuna to at least sense some presences; though, of course, Reborn hid his well and he doubted even the top Mafia sensors would be able to detect him if he did not wish to be found, not mentioning Tsuna – he walked up to the boy's side, contemplating on whether it would be more amusing to cuff his student or to use Leon for far more exquisite exclamations from the kid's part.

About to throw a scathing remark about how pathetic Tsuna looked, sitting like that in the night with no dignity whatsoever, Reborn looked at the brunet's face just as a stray breeze ruffled the latter's hair, blowing off the few locks covering his student's eyes.

The words died in the hitman's throat.

In that moment, so many thoughts flashed through Reborn's mind, most of which pointing to the fact that a normal teenager, after going through much stress – that he should get used to, of course, but maybe it's just a bit too much for him right on the first day? – sitting on the edge of a building with such a face that even caused _Reborn_ to shudder inaudibly was not the situation in which he should be making much of a fuss.

Because when Reborn saw the boy's eyes, he saw grief so deep that even the silent tears running down the boy's chin and dropping down to splatter on the ground two stories down didn't seem as frightening.

But what was most frightening was that there weren't any sobs.

Absently, Reborn thought that since he came onto the roof he didn't hear the slightest of sounds from the boy.

The boy was silent about this.

The hitman straightened his fedora and decided to wipe off such an arrogant action by firing a stray shot with Leon.

The next happened so quickly that even Reborn wasn't able to react properly – the gunshot rang through the dusk silence causing Tsuna's head to snap at Reborn, eyes void of the usual light as the teen comprehended the presence of his tutor, but then both realized the fact, that Tsuna had lost grip of his leg which slid off uncontrollably, dragging Tsuna down, off the roof.

He only had one second to react.

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><p><strong>AN: **HA! CLIFFIE there! My first one actually ^^

...Uh, what am I so happy about? This chapter was horrible again /)_(\ I wanted to update as soon as possible - my dear reviewers, you are so- so BRILLIANT! ;.D I mean, 51 review for TWO CHAPTERS. And 132 follows! And I'm sooo afraid of disappointing you all. D: To say I'm not happy with this chapter is to say nothing but I just can really imagine it any other way so SORRY!

So, um, to clarify something - Tsuna, in spite of having a problem with his leg, knows Namimori better than the back of his hand. In case you're wondering how he avoided Reborn.

Please review because I need to know if you all would still like a continuation... And if you wanted something else than this, please just say so!

Love, peace and cookies

River Melody

P.S. Free cookies to everyone! *gives everybody cookies*

P.P.S. Please take a look at my profile - I have a poll there and I'd like to know what you would like to read ^^


	4. Through falls

**Wind Running**

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><p><em>Falling.<em>

_...I'm falling._

_I..._

_I __hate__ falling._

In a detached sort of way, Tsuna could see stars twinkling up in the ironically cloudless sky – _so unfair he wants to be up there too why is he left stranded on the ground_ _why –_ and he couldn't feel any ground under his feet – _that isn't supposed to be wrong so why is it right now_ - and time had slowed down altogether – _wrongwrongwrong so wrong_ – as if in an attempt to stop the impending impact but of course doomed to fail since it was time's job to never stop running.

So many thoughts passed in that single second as Tsuna slipped down, off the roof, his cramped foot dragging him like a burden it wasn't supposed to be and he felt so terribly, horribly empty.

It was so- so _unfair_, and Tsuna felt so bitter and wrong and clumsy and terrified and all the things he was so unused to feeling and hated to feel-

He used to do this a lot – jumping off roofs and windows from his back, only not from two floors but from four or five floors, and it never felt _this_ wrong.

He had never felt as if he was _falling_.

Reborn was watching him. A fleeting thought in Tsuna's mind and he felt oddly sardonic – the strange baby that had came and told him he was supposed to be in the mafia and ruling a family he never knew of and then shot him in the forehead for nothing – and Reborn looked stricken despite the attitude he displayed earlier today. He didn't look like he wanted to help either but Tsuna didn't exactly expect him too since by the time Reborn reacted, Tsuna was already out of reach.

Tsuna could hear the wind now. She must be furious, really furious, judging by the sound and the power of her blowing. He couldn't do anything though since his foot was paralyzed and his weight was not nothing she could support by herself.

Then again, it had always worked both ways and since one of them became broken, they couldn't do anything together. Tsuna closed his eyes as he sailed down and down, and he patiently waited to be broken once again. Maybe this time would be the last time.

And then he heard her _scream_.

...Tsuna reacted.

...

Reborn thought that he went deaf. He really did and it was at the most inconvenient moment possible since he was actually supposed to do something about the whole situation.

Though it was the most blessed intervention ever done, he realized much later.

The boy slipped down, a scream frozen in his throat, louder than any sound Reborn ever heard, and the baby could see those lightless eyes flash with terror, eyes that hurt even more than when the hitman shot the boy.

Those eyes spoke of betrayal.

And betrayal that wasn't directed to Reborn.

The next thing he knew, something howled like a hellishly mad monster and barreled past the Sun Arcobaleno with a force that almost pushed _him_ off, and to Reborn's well-hidden shock, an almost visible gust of wind slammed into Tsuna from below – as if desperate to keep the falling brunet up in the air or at least soften the fall by any means possible.

There was an inhuman sound of pure desperation and fear.

And for the first time since Reborn arrived, it _happened_.

Reborn watched as time slowed almost painfully, the surroundings stopped moving as the passing car stopped and the trees froze, and Tsuna's eyes went impossibly wide, irises diminishing almost to slits.

And then the boy _moved_.

His hands snapped out behind him in a speed that almost seemed like a blur in the contrast to the unmoving world around and he twisted his legs mid-air, swirling his body in a way gravity shouldn't allow, as if being guided by the air itself, and the boy, surprising both himself and Reborn, landed on his fours, as if he were a feline, executing a perfect parkour roll off inertia.

The wind let out a whistle – almost as if it was _relieved_ of all things – and went completely quiet, as if letting go of the boy, and then there was silence.

Tsuna's hair that have been utterly wild, whipping back and forth in the wind until now, slowly settling back to their usual angles, some of the bangs lowering and cutting off the view of the boy's eyes from Reborn.

Slowly, Tsuna raised a trembling hand and clenched it.

When Tsuna abruptly stood up, the hitman watching from two stories up was able to catch a single look of his face and a stray thought floated through Reborn's mind as he stood, frozen.

_...Tsuna's eyes are supposed to be alive._

_Like they are now._

Reborn suddenly realized that this whole time, Tsuna's eyes were almost dead. They'd been a dark brown, dull and lightless and the hitman cursed himself for being so blind to such screaming disorder. He frowned mentally but he was pulled out of his thoughts when his eyes caught a slight movement.

And then the boy's lips quirked upwards.

That was, Reborn reminisced, the first time he saw the boy smile.

Said boy had turned around and away from Reborn, facing the wall of his own home and the hitman wondered why Tsuna stared at it as he would have at a cage. Tsuna slowly stepped back and back and by the time Reborn realized his limp had for some inexplicable reason disappeared, the boy had literally _run_ up the wall, the strange wind blowing from behind the boy as if pushing him up and...

...And then he was gone.

And even though Reborn was quick to come to his senses and try follow after the boy with Leon's help, for the rest of the night, Tsuna was lost to him.

For the very first time since his meeting with the boy, in that one moment before the brunet disappeared off the wall, Reborn thought he saw two shadows stretch from Tsuna's back.

...

"Mamma."

"Yes, Reborn-kun?"

"I'd like to ask you about a thing. Though first tell you something."

"And what would that be? I hope Tsu-kun didn't do anything bad, did he?"

"Yes, about that."

"Ara! What happened?"

"...Dame-Tsuna is gone. He jumped over a wall and disappeared."

"Oh. Well. That's normal for him, I mean, he used to disappear for whole nights on and- wait. Wait. Wait- _what_?!"

"Dame-Tsuna is gone."

"..."

"..."

"...Reborn-kun, why don't you tell me everything from the beginning?"

Several minutes later, a cup of heavenly made espresso was in front of Reborn and Nana was sitting on the armchair with a sharp look and folded arms as she regarded the baby with uncharacteristically keen dark chocolate eyes. There was a pause during which she seemed thoughtful as she tapped a finger on her chin.

She then sighed and Reborn was once again convinced that women are never what they seem at first glance.

"...And after that, Tsu-kun ran off."

"Yes."

"Right up the wall."

"Precisely."

"And you weren't able to find him."

"Exactly."

"I have a question, Reborn-kun."

The hitman raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Mamma?"

Nana's acute gaze softened significantly.

"Was there a wind?"

Reborn's other eyebrow slowly crept up his forehead and he slightly lifted his fedora to view the brunette woman more clearly, his mouth a thin line as they regarded each other on very much even grounds.

The hitman's eyes narrowed.

"...Quite right."

And Nana smiled brightly as she stood up, dusting the non-existent dirt off her lap.

"Then everything is okay, Reborn-kun. Don't worry. Just please tell me when he comes back – he will need some hot chocolate after this I believe."

Reborn furrowed his brows slightly as he watched Tsuna's mother head upstairs with the basket of laundry and a carefree hum, leaving him with more question than answers.

...This wasn't the sort of conversation he expected to have, not at all.

...

The boy came back the next morning.

As in, at 11 AM in the morning.

When the door creaked open, alerting the hitman who was having breakfast, Reborn had peeked into the hall with hands folded behind his back and unblinking eyes as he assessed Tsuna with a squinted eye, and then summed it up in one very definitive phrase.

"You look pathetic, Dame-Tsuna."

The boy stood in the doorway, a few twigs and leafs stuck in his completely disheveled hair, his jacket ripped in several places, a long scratch on is right leg that mostly stopped bleeding and a heavy lean onto his left foot as he clutched his right arm with his left one. There were bags under his eyes.

Tsuna was smiling.

...It was an utterly blinding smile.

Reborn raised an inquisitive eyebrow and then he tapped on his wrist watch with an eerily attentive face.

"And when do you suppose are you going to go to school, Dame-Tsuna?"

The happy expression was wiped clean off the boy's face as he paled drastically.

Tsuna ran for the school bag.

Well, limped.

Before crumpling down.

...asleep on the floor.

What a bothersome student Dame-Tsuna was. Reborn was getting a headache with him already which was something even Dino wasn't able to achieve so early on.

Not that Dame-Tsuna was going to be sleeping anytime soon, regardless of what happened that night.

Reborn smirked and the devil was put to shame.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Okay, I have an explanation - I had a sort of author's block on this thing. I really don't know why since I actually love this fic dearly but I honestly couldn't write a word for some reason - I made myself some time at evening when no one would disturb me but I'd just sit in front of the screen and stare at the blinking cursor without being able to write a single sentence (I now officially hate cursors that blink for more than three seconds now.) So I'm very very sorry.

I know this is a very small chapter and extremely inconsistent at that, but it's actually necessary and I rather write at least something on this - I mean, I had to resolve that cliffhanger; I'm not so cruel as to leave people hanging - and I want to gradually grow on than leave this fic entirely until the time wild inspiration strikes me which might never come if I don't nudge it along.

There's going to be much more in this fic, I promise. It's a lot deeper than you might think and if you're wondering why the very few descriptions of Tsuna running right now are not all that beautiful as it should look, it's because of his state right now - what _was _and what _will be_ is another thing entirely that I hope I'll write out in good quality.

(There will be Gokudera soon and of course Yamamoto so yeah.)

Once again, I'm sorry if I disappointed you people (especially you wonderful people that reviewed and most of all Bleach-ed-Nat-su who is wonderful, brilliant, fantastic person who understands me and this fic so much that I'm ready to hug her forever. She's also written this ingenius, stunning and extremely delightful work called 'Not Just Another Icarus' in this universe that you simply _must_ check out since it is truly a piece of free running Tsuna - Natsu passed on all the things I want to be able to one day. Standing ovation for her please.)

Love, peace and cookies

River Melody

P.S. Why yes, have some cookies sweethearts *hands out plates of cookies*


	5. And flights

**Wind Running**

* * *

><p>This chapter is a look in the past, from Hibari's perspective.<p>

And please, this is actually a very precious chapter for me that I for once really liked writing, like, _really_. Please be kind. I've been trying to finish this for more than half a year.

(Also, I wrote this while listening to 'Divenire' and 'Eden Roc' by Ludovico Einaudi. Really recommend listening to those ^^)

* * *

><p>Hibari Kyouya was never one to deign it necessary to become... attached to anyone.<p>

He was also of an unpopular opinion that while people studied complex social interactions and hierarchies, everything was much simpler and painfully so – there were herbivores, like the ones who liked crowding and brawling with each other and behaving like the herd instinct dictated them to, and there were carnivores, in dwindling numbers, who bit herbivores to death for various reasons.

Carnivores such as Hibari Kyouya was.

Kyouya had from a very young age established this principle and while there was a very small exception for small animals he felt an instinctive willingness to protect, and instinct was next to the only thing he listened to, he did not bound with anyone because it would simply make him weak and burdened.

He very much despised any kind of undisciplined behavior among the everyday herbivores, especially at the epicenter of the despicable crowding – the school grounds. He hated crowding in _his territory_ – something all of Namimori was. The herbivores ran around like headless chickens, human beings, they claimed themselves to be, shrieking like animals should and not human kind, females flocking and clucking about their own kin, and the scuffles and general loud noise irritated Hibari to a degree when places he walked past turned into piles of bodies who experienced first-hand just how much Hibari hated crowds.

Hibari Kyouya became the demonic prefect and head of the Disciplinary Committee in Namimori Elementary and no herbivorous teacher nor any other herbivore dared to say anything against him. Crossing paths with Hibari Kyouya entailed much unpleasantries.

So it came as a slight surprise when Hibari found himself confronted by an experience he never before encountered. In the face of a ridiculously small boy with equally as ludicrous large eyes and an attitude that would leave most speechless.

"Herbivore. You are late and therefore I shall bite you to death."

A scrawny creature – must be a herbivore; though Kyouya had seen it walk to school and it was almost always alone, and also never late unlike today – stared at the raven-haired teen standing in front of him with impossibly big brown eyes. Quite an unsightly reaction, Kyouya had thought, his tonfas unsheathing and eyes filling with an animalistic sort of glee at the prospect of biting someone to death.

In the ensuing silence, several students who have been late too slipped by just as the prefect lunged.

The herbivore only inclined his head to the right as he slightly bent his knees – cowardly herbivore, Kyouya had thought – slightly shifting to the left and then he... evaded the blow. Easily. Hibari's lips twitched upwards as he continued thrusting his tonfas, all intended to strike and all missing just by a few inches.

To the astonishment of the still watching students, the brunet stayed light on his feet, tonfas never really touching him.

He possessed a grace Hibari had never seen before – the grace of a light breeze that one can never so much as touch and it only spurred the prefect's resolve to bite down the cheeky wind that reminded him too much of his distant uncle.

(Though being completely honest with himself, which he always was, considering his belief that lying to oneself is as foolish as it can get, he couldn't really see any cheek or impudence in the herbivore's expression. It unnerved him slightly.)

To the frustration of the raven-haired, this- this _little__ animal_ was avoiding his attacks with his _arms folded behind him_. But that wasn't even the most frustrating thing – the creature was _smiling_, and so sincerely at that, which was something Kyouya had never seen his victims do.

And then the school bell had rang and the younger boy heard it, his eyes widening as he glanced at the clock behind Hibari with growing horror, absently dodging another blow meant for his chest. While he slipped under another thrust – to his head – he managed to _bow_ to Hibari and sprint- no,_ fly_ to the entrance of the school, covering the distance between the gates and the doors in remarkably little time for a being with such short legs. The prefect could see that the boy didn't as much as break a sweat.

The herbivores watching earlier had their jaws clanging on the floor while Kyouya stared for a long time at the place from where the little animal had bowed to him. He remembered his bright-lit eyes and the smile that seemed permanent.

_Sorry, Hibari-san, I can't stay to play any longer._

...

The next day came and the prefect was already waiting for the animal at the entrance, regardless of the fact that Sawada Tsunayoshi – that was the herbivore's name – wasn't late. In fact, Hibari arrived earlier than he usually did but only just in time to see the rather fragile-looking creature walk past the gates – a spring to his step and a small hum under his breath. The raven-haired stalked up from behind, intending to whirl the boy around and beat him up six ways to Sunday as overdue punishment, but just when he approached, a small rock screeched under his shoe and Kyouya watched in slight fascination how Tsunayoshi jumped up at least a meter into the air, his already impossible hair standing on end as if he were a frightened cat, and the boy scampered with a speed Hibari never saw before. Scratch what he saw yesterday – _this _was something worth mentioning. It was as if one second the little herbivore was still in the air from shock and the other he was frantically tugging the door of the school open, dashing inside without looking back.

Hibari had stomped into the school and quickly pulling the herbivore's class from his memory, whirled through the corridors and stormed into the classroom, and up to the boy's desk right in the middle of the class, scaring the living spirit out of both the teacher and all the students as he ignored all and everything and just stared ice daggers at the Sawada.

And much to his ever-growing fascination, Tsunayoshi only pursed his lips and sighed when confronted with a steely silver gaze, golden brown watching back so innocently. The others present in the classroom were already bidding Tsunayoshi goodbye and a good time in the afterlife but the brunet just blinked sheepishly.

"I'm sorry for running away like that, Hibari-san. I'm a real scaredy cat when someone comes at me from behind. I should make it more entertaining next time, ne?"

Hibari continued to stare, irises almost slitted and he slowly uttered.

"I should bite you to death for running in the corridors."

"But I wasn't running."

Kyouya rose a brow, much to the shock of the others – the brunet should be dead for backtalk and running, not having a – mostly – civil discussion with the demon prefect who actually showed a genuine human emotion like curiosity on his face.

"And what do you call an intentional rapid movement of your lower limbs with a goal of escaping from punishment?"

The animal had the guts to smile, albeit slightly nervously.

"That was sprinting, Hibari-san. Even I know that much."

"...Hn."

With that, the prefect slowly retracted his 'claws', glaring at the tiny spike-haired animal, and swept out of the room with no idea as to why he didn't drag the _clearly_ undisciplined animal by the scruff of the neck out of the class or didn't bite him to death right there and then.

Maybe, it was the challenge he saw in the little animal.

Maybe, seeing the animal in blood didn't look particularly appealing.

...

On the third day, Hibari almost managed to grab Tsunayoshi by the collar. The boy had twirled around just in time as Kyouya's fist closed sheer inches from his nose and blinked wide-eyed, and then he just bounced like that, _backwards_, quickly gaining a speed that rivaled Hibari's straight sprint.

Kyouya was pleased to find that he forced the boy to actually use more advanced moves that he evidently in his arsenal – Tsunayoshi had glanced absently over his shoulder, then flashed around and vaulted over a bench in a swift dash vault, barely touching the bench at all with an ease and fluidness that spoke of much, _much_ experience. The sheer force of the momentum threw the brunet meters through the air, legs stretched forward as he smoothly came down and his feet flashed rapidly when he landed and scampered right from the moment his shoes touched the ground, using the gravity as an advantage it wasn't supposed to be.

The raven-haired wanted to take out his tonfas out of habit but reluctantly decided against it since they would only get in the way when he chased the boy, hindering his freedom of movement. Besides, he didn't really need them all that much – he could always make a decent amount of damage with bare hands alone.

The fleeing herbivore had noticed the weapon's absence and Hibari was almost taken aback at the utterly shining grin he received as he heard words sounding something like 'finally' and 'that's how he should be'.

He frowned slightly. It was pathetic, of course... The herbivore must be simply rejoicing about not getting bitten to death right away, that was it. He wouldn't really care about anything else – it was against the basic survival instinct to think otherwise.

The prefect didn't catch the boy's happy gazes that were directed at something very slowly, but surely, day by day, unfurling behind Hibari's back.

(He hadn't yet come to know of the things Tsuna could see. Not yet.)

Of course, by the time he arrived at the classroom, Tsunayoshi was already fully assembled and had his little nasty face in the textbook. He'd raised his brown eyes over the book to meet gazes with a slightly out of breath Kyouya and his eyes twinkled.

_Twinkled_, for god's sake.

...

On the fourth day, Tsunayoshi had the nerve to enter the school via the back wall and run around the building _right behind _Hibari's back who didn't expect such insolence yet and only noticed the creeping brunet when the latter was opening the door and it betrayed the boy by screeching.

Shrieks and skidding footsteps commenced but Hibari still couldn't catch the herbivore.

...

By the fifth day, it was established that once Tsunayoshi reaches his desk, the chase was put on pause since the desk was a sacred place for studying, the lack of which Hibari would not tolerate – herbivores were stupid enough as it is – though if the boy wanted to have lunch somewhere else than the class or wanted to wander around during the recess, any plans that the boy might have had were cut short by Hibari who swept in to try take hold of him. It became a sort of odd game of one-sided tag with a single off-limit place in the entire school and school territory – the boy's desk – which the boy used shamelessly by pretending to be studying all the time and eating his bento there. At times, Hibari would pass by his class on recesses to search for loitering students – plenty of them, unfortunately – and cast icy looks the herbivore's way.

One time, when Tsunayoshi finally felt a hot glare burning holes in his back and turned to look at Hibari cluelessly, his eyes widened and he...

...He waved.

Waved and smiled, flowers blooming behind him and of course the glitters took over from there.

The fearsome head of the Disciplinary Committee did _not_ run.

It was a strategical retreat. And no, the pathetic red coloring his own usually impassive face had nothing to do with it.

He did not admit to being hypocritical about 'not lying to oneself'.

...

The sixth day was the start of the weekend and Kyouya stared from his cabinet of the Disciplinary Committee where he was supposed to be finishing paperwork, but was instead watching from the window the empty school grounds that had never before bothered him before and usually pleased him to a certain extent.

He didn't have anyone to chase that day, nor on Sunday.

...

The next Monday and throughout the week, everything repeated. Tsunayoshi sometimes came with the most early students and sometimes later than the tardiest of herbivores. He could suddenly plummet from the main gates straight for the school doors or creep over a wall or corner when Hibari wasn't looking and soundlessly try to avoid being noticed by Kyouya, usually successful in that because the raven-haired never noticed how the boy cleared the school fence.

One day, the prefect didn't even see how Tsunayoshi got into the school and was already marking him as being absent – ergo, bite to death upon seeing,_ immediately_ – when he passed the class the animal educated in – of course it was not intentional, not at all – and saw the boy's head hidden behind a carefully open textbook so the teacher didn't see Sawada himself.

When Hibari found a better angle, he saw the brunet's face buried in his arms as Tsunayoshi appeared to be sleeping peacefully. A beat later, one tonfa imbedded itself into a wall sheer inches from the boy's nose, knocking down the textbook to reveal a very startled Sawada who was blinking groggily, eyes sobering with a rapidness that brought righteous satisfaction to Hibari. While the teacher conveniently chose to turn back to the chalkboard to write something down rather than try sorting out whatever the coming of Hibari promised, the class stared nervously between Tsuna and Kyouya, some biting their nails or seeking refuge under the desks while some muttered chanting prayers. The raven-haired glared at the boy and, his words thundering in the deathly silent classroom, murmured.

"Sleeping in classes is punished. Next time, you _will_ be bitten to death."

Tsunayoshi, instead of feeling intimidated like every normal herbivore in the class with an instinct of self-preservation did, examined the tonfa with fascination, noting the perfect 90 degree angle between the weapon and the wall. He even took out a protractor and measured it, lips twisted upwards like they always did – irritatingly genuine. Carefully, he tugged the tonfa out of the small crater it created, sighing at the plaster that crumbled onto his desk, and, cringing slightly at the weight, tossed it all over class right into Hibari's only instinctively opened palm. Kyouya's eyes just barely twitched in annoyance at the lack of fear and the animal's apologetic smile, and the slight incline of his head was doing nothing to help.

"I'm very sorry, Hibari-san. I didn't get any sleep yesterday so I must've accidentally fell asleep..."

"Hn."

And not that that was the only time the little animal did it. Far from that, in fact. Hibari glimpsed Tsunayoshi napping from time to time and the boy decided that putting a textbook that shielded him both from the teacher and the door from where Hibari usually saw him take his naps was a brilliant idea.

Аs if it could stop Kyouya and prevent his disciplining.

Though it was also the first time Hibari couldn't help but wonder what the boy did at night that he would choose not to get proper sleep and instead risk being caught sleeping in class. He also wondered if it had something with the herbivore's fast feet though he quickly chased away that thought since it held no relevance.

A few times, Hibari managed to startle the little animal which pleased him greatly, even if he still couldn't catch him. Tsunayoshi didn't have that much of a presence and Kyouya doubted he was any use in a fight if it came to it, but the boy's feet outweighed any flaws he might have had. The boy wasn't a carnivore – didn't act like one anyway, and he didn't smell carnivore either – but he was certainly a little animal who adapted to surviving in his own way, effortlessly and with rather graceful style. Even though at the time, Hibari didn't fully understand that he had seen nothing yet.

He hadn't known Tsunayoshi's running was something far more special than simple escaping from punishment.

...

It had really only dawned him one day, when the circumstances fell into a right place and he saw exactly how the animal cleared the school fences.

That one time, Kyouya was standing under the west wall, expecting the boy to climb over – Kusakabe reported seeing the boy coming to the school from that direction – and drop right next to the prefect where the raven-haired would seize the opportunity. Surely, climbing over the wall would cause at least some loud noise to alert him, and at the very least, the little animal could not just pass the wall without slowing down.

The prefect stood there, waiting, and he felt the wind pick up slightly. He absently wondered since when there was a wind on a windless day and quickly dismissed the thought.

He strained to hear the boy approach but, however, to Kyouya's surprise, instead he had just barely enough time to register a sound of running feet, speeding up with increasing rapidness, and a light_ swoosh!_ of wind from behind the wall and snapped around to look up, momentarily blinded by the sunlight as a figure flashed _right_ _above_ him, legs bent tightly under himself to not skim, hands spread and slightly in front of him to keep a more or less vertical position and goddamn _flying_, farther than Kyouya ever saw a human do. As if in slow motion, he watched with slightly widened eyes as the little animal passed over him, stretching his arms forward, his whole body arching into a position and landing at least four meters away from Hibari with an audible thud of a fluid roll, springing right back and shooting into the school as if he never stopped running and on the contrary, gained more speed.

Hibari was too caught up in the after-image to follow after.

After all, one can never forget a sight of an airborne boy, with the sun as a golden halo around his head and the wind ruffling his hair, and two momentarily visible white blurs stretching behind him, as if coming from his back in forms of sunrays that rivaled the brightness of the child's utterly happy smile.

Hibari only resumed to his responsibilities when a pair of students skipping classes walked right behind him and automatically, he disposed of the offenders.

the image really had stuck in his mind ever since.

...

The day after, Kyouya caught Tsunayoshi literally running up a wall and climbing up two stories to his class. _Clearly,_ he wanted to annoy Hibari.

Not as obviously, Hibari found himself amused and even slightly... amazed at the way Tsunayoshi flung himself up the windowsills on each floor, opening the window to the shrieks of those inside – they could be heard from way down; very irritating – and slipping inside, right into his seat. Upon taking his place, the brunet had looked back out, sticking his head out of the window while leaning dangerously far, hair even more wild in the wind than usual, and the little animal met gazes with the vicious carnivore.

Tsuna gave thumb ups and mouthed, '_This is so fun!'_

Kyouya snapped his head to look away, not believing himself to not quirk his lips upwards if he continued to look at the contagiously joyous boy. It really was pathetic. Since when did his composure began to fail at times like this?

"Tch."

Hibari walked away with a fearsome scowl.

Compared to his usual deathly-ice glare, it meant something much less fearsome than one would think.

...

One day, Tsunayoshi came skipping to the school and Hibari couldn't even come close to intercepting him. The boy was shining with excitement at whatever it was that brought him such, and Kyouya witnessed just how efficiently happiness spurred the little animal to move faster. It was rather fascinating, if not annoying on some level because apparently Kyouya wasn't the mostly difficult object of challenge to the little animal.

When the last class ended, the prefect was already waiting at the classroom door, intent on catching the boy when he exited through the door and maybe hear what made him so happ- so _fast_. Instead, Hibari only got to see how a mop of brown hair, school bag in one hand and a carefree laugh on his face, jumped onto the windowsill and dashed _right out_ _of the window_, to the gasps of the other students who sprung after him, frantic to see what happened.

Hibari was long gone by then and when he arrived outside the gates, it was to see Tsunayoshi waving from afar, his school bag under his arm and putting his hands around his mouth, to yell.

"I'm sorry Hibari-san, I've gotta go!"

He had stood there, watching the younger boy as he disappeared out of sight with an unreadable expression, and then he turned around and went back to his business, chasing away the unwanted thoughts.

Carnivores don't care for others.

He isn't supposed to wonder.

...

That evening Hibari got a call.

"_Skylark, we have an inter-region run – today's gonna be field day for you. Make sure you hunt only the bastards who deserve it or else the deal's off. I ain't one to tolerate unnecessary blood._"

Yoru, or Yoru no Hogosha, the Night Guard of the parkour web. It was one of the unofficial groupings that weren't part of the wide underworld – the opposite, in fact. The female carnivore – he smelled carnivores when he saw them, even though nothing Kyouya tried to make her fight him worked; instead he was irritated beyond words when she flipped him the finger and evaded his tonfas like a magpie bird she was rumored actually to be – tolerated no dirty dealings and prevented all attempts to make crime in the name of Namimori free-runners in the root. She made a deal with him out of common interests which inlcuded him biting to death those who disturbed the peace of Namimori or/and broke the rules of the parkour group. An inter-region run meant there will be some newcomers from outside Namimori, and fhat meant there would be a chance someone sketchy might turn up to disturb citizens and innocent herbivores as representatives of different gangs. There were bound to be scuffles.

Hibari smirked like a beast.

It was ten in the evening when the run started – Hibari couldn't care less about the herbivorous game or whatever it was; the sheer idea of someone running away from someone implied herbivorousness – so he stayed away from the crowds that weren't really crowding since they were all scattered around the region, part of why Hibari tolerated their presence and running around his territory in the first place.

He was scanning the dark in search of rule-breakers – there were three to break so Hibari glared icily for presences of fights, ganging up and cheating. So far, everyone were fair – disgustingly obedient; the female carnivore in charge of Namimori's parkour web must have an iron grip on it – when suddenly, he had only enough time to feel someone approach at an impossible speed and Hibari's silver eyes widened slightly as a soundless shadow flashed past him in an orange blur of a double king vault from one building onto another coupled with a dash vault over the corner of a two story house and a mind-numbing triple backflip, right out of sight.

A few seconds later – it would count as not so long after but in this game, every millisecond seemed to count so they were to be regarded as pathetically slow – the prefect watched two bulky teenagers chase after the hooded person who had long since disappeared from view.

Hibari bared his teeth in a feral grin as he jumped down in front of the two, cutting off any means of escape.

"Ganging up on other participants is strictly prohibited. I shall bite you to death."

After fulfilling his duty and feeling slightly more content, Kyouya found a good spot to survey the section of the town where houses and buildings were especially close-knit to each other – it created lots of good parkour maneuver opportunities which was why the female must have chosen this part of the region.

A couple of times, the prefect saw free-runners jump over high walls or climb up or do rolls or hide in the boxes and gare age cans to avoid being caught while they take a breath and ward off their exhaustion, and he also saw how one chase came to an end – fairly. The chaser had run up to an unsuspecting player from behind while the latter was standing with his back to a small alleyway, and the herbivore snatched a red flag much to the other herbivore's disappointment. The victorious herbivore had laughed in a good manner and patted the other's shoulder – they must be, what were they called, friends? some herbivorous thing like that – and though dejected by the loss, the loser herbivore just sighed and smiled before they both disappeared around the corner.

Mildly, Hibari wondered if this was what the female carnivore talked about in a both carnivorously confident and herbivorously sentimental way.

_"Free-runnin' means we search for freedom. Yes, Skylark, by runnin', whatever you say about it. Stupid nestlings usually think that by winning in games like this with whatever it takes, they can find it. Especially the newbies who taste victory over others, which isn't the actual point, since it isn't the freedom we speak 'bout. Some think that by loosin'__, they loose that so-called freedom. They forget that it's just a stupid children's game, meant for fun and exercise and adrenalin. This is a literal case of when winnin' ain't important, the participation is, because those who actually did find their own freedom know that violence or cheating or a stupid victory is never a path to it."_

Kyouya had sneered that victory was everything in this world where stronger species dominated those who are weaker and got an exaspaeated roll of eyes from the other end of the line.

_"Oh come on, you're a skylark for fuck's sake. You should know that victory is good but flyin' is way better."_

It wasn't until half an hour later that while walking through one of the countless backways – he'd got bored and a cold sitting – that Hibari heard a challenging whistle in the distance and realized it was the whistle of the wind that was getting closer and closer. The prefect turned around sharply to see the same orange hooded figure bound across the garbage cans in a flurry of speed vaults, barely touching them and jumping over Hibari's head in a long monkey vault, then practically flinging himself half-way up a wall, using his feet and the well-gained momentum to reach up with a hand and fluidly pull himself up, sprinting along the rooftop side and into a window of the abandoned building.

The whole sight brought a very familiar feeling and a suspicion that he'd seen this herbivore(?) before. Though in a much simpler form of only running and occasionally jumping, though with the very same feeling as if...

...As if he didn't belong on the ground.

Hibari frowned at the thought.

Just before the figure disappeared into the darkness, the prefect noticed a small orange flag tied to the person's wrist.

Right. The female carnivore said something about participants trying to take hold of those.

_"If ya want to, you're free to try catch one. What's it you say you are... a carnivore? Yeah, that, a carnivore – betcha like chasing after people then, ne? There might be some challenges for you in my nest. Try Ryuu, or Tenshi. Yuki is a slippery kid and hard to catch too so you might have fun with him. If you get bored of _them_, you can always try Neko. It's always fun with him."_

_ A short laugh. _

_"Though I doubt you'll be able to catch him. Even _I_ can't catch Neko."_

The prefect had heard rumors of an extremely short free-runner with miraculous jumping skills dubbed 'Kaze no Neko' for reasons Hibari didn't bother to find out – he didn't even pay attention to the information at the time. Now, however, he was quite intrigued because the short herbivore in an orange hoodie that occasionally darted in Kyouya's line of sight was most definitely this 'Kaze no Neko'.

Hibari smirked.

If the female carnivore couldn't catch the wind cat it didn't mean he couldn't. After all, he was the strongest carnivore in his grounds and he can catch any herbivore as he pleased.

He'd forgotten about one certain boy with the innocent eyes of an angel and feet that carried him straight out of Hibari's claws.

And so, two hours later, Kyouya admitted that he'd spoken too soon.

He, for once, understood exactly what the female Night Guard was talking about.

Hibari was standing on the edge of a rooftop, five stories high, panting slightly and sporting a bruise on his knee from a single landing gone awry at the very start of the chase and one would never be able to know of the annoying pain Kyouya felt from the teen's deadpan. The parkour roll he had executed should've been perfect but there was one big mistake – he'd chosen to follow the cat's pathway and mindlessly assumed that if such a little free-runner pulled off that drop down a six meter wall with ease then so would Kyouya.

At the time, he hadn't even noticed the impossibly strong wind that accompanied Neko all this time.

If he wasn't as good as he was, he'd have certainly broken a bone, but he managed to avoid that narrowly by taking most of the force of the collision with his back.

The pathway was not a pathway to one lesser than Kyouya in terms of difficulty but he still couldn't with all the skills in his possession climb up a seven meter wall without another one to push up off and even then, he'd have to catch the side railing and pull himself up with quite some effort. The narrow fence he ran on afterwards had almost caused him to tumble down a drop one would rather not fall from.

The wind cat ran up that wall in sheer seconds and sprinted along the fence without glancing down even once.

And then, the drop down six meters right onto a roof of a lower building which served as the cause of the injury on his leg.

As frustrated and ashamed of himself he was – such a herbivorous reaction – he'd let out a suppressed but still audible gasp of surprise from the pain. The orange silhouette that had up until now flickered in the distance as a beacon slowed down and turned to look at Kyouya, and though he stood in a light from a post lamp that prevented the prefect from seeing his features, the deep concern was evident.

Hibari had suddenly noticed that the wind stopped whistling, calming down as the herbivore stopped running.

Instead of contemplating, he bit his lip and growled like a wolf, lunging forward after the small cat in a surge of fury. The sound of rushing air cand back with new force and Neko bolted, with just a slight stagger from surprise.

Strangely enough, despite the challenging route the cat seemed to take at first, after that unfortunate (to Kyouya, not the cat) drop, he seemed to run along simpler constructions and wider walls and lower fences. From there on, the perfect had no problems with the objects he had to clear or the drops he had to take. It made him angry and undermined and stubbornly he pushed the pain of his foot aside, focusing on a much more important goal – catching the cheeky cat that dare take pity on him.

He couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu.

He ran, jumping up and down and running and sprinting, following the orange hoodie in the never-shrinking distance, up until the teen momentarily lost sight of the cat who disappeared around a corner. Kyouya rounded it swiftly, jumping over a gap between walls in the process, and slowed down in front of a house. The window of a roofless building was far too small and dark for him to dive into without stopping to stick his head inside precariously and the gigantic gap in the floor of a warehouse he was supposed to chase through was enough to make him wonder if this was where the cat had really gone in the first place.

Kyouya took a few steps back and jumped through the window in a precise dash vault just in time to see the orange figure emerge from the shadows inside the building and into the light from the moon, speeding towards the gaping black in the floor with no reluctance or fear in his almost inhuman movements.

The world slowed down, muting, as the wind cat jumped.

The prefect, had, for the first time in his life, saw _them_.

A warm flurry of wind rushed past the, perhaps for the first time in his life, shocked Hibari and he gaped wide-eyed because in the moonlight and the rejoicing breeze...

He saw wings shine in the starlit night.

Kaze no Neko soared with the wind.

And when he landed on the other side, the silence roared with air rushing past.

After that, the chase became a daze. Kyouya had never experienced this feeling – he never thought it even _existed_. It was so different from what he was used to and it brought him something much different than disciplining herbivores ever brought him. It brought him satisfaction on a level higher than ordering around subordinates and beating people to death – this was an experience of a much, if he could even say it that way, _personal_ level.

The starry, moonlit night of a chase – _a_ _hunt_, Hibari would like to call it – a hunt after a small, fast, winged prey wreathed in wind as if it were a spirit and flying through the roofs, only touching walls and the ground occasionally in blurs and laughter, it was now obvious that this is what he had waiting for. The whole world became black, white, blue and orange – orange being that one candlelight beaconing Hibari to its presence.

Through the streams of jumps and runs and outright falling down off buildings, all with the feeling of soaring through air, high on adrenalin and the whispers of the wind that seemed to accompany both of them through the chase and then climbing back up on the buildings, and sometimes Hibari caught glimpses of breath-taking views along the way.

It really wasn't something that can expressed through words. It was something _more_, something that made Kyouya's whole being boil with excitement, but not excitement alike to fighting someone. Excitement of a sense of freedom, his _own_ freedom, the one where he hunted prey like he did now, but he didn't do it on the _ground_.

In the end, hours later when the monochrome sky began tinting pink at the horizon and the colors and the reality and the day began announcing their collective rightful presence, the figure had finally stopped the mind-blowing chase, just when a single gap was left in between the two of them. Hibari stood rigidly on top of a pedestal-like end of a fence, feeling some particular muscles in his body he never knew the existence of start to ache ever-so-slightly – he never practiced running and jumping and climbing for so long, and it's not the same as fighting, but he hated being restrained, hated that with a passion, so he pushed his body to the limits to hunt because Hibari Kyouya was nothing if not determined. The other person, his hood still covering his hair and face, stood on the other side of the gap, on a similar start of a higher wall. They both stared at each other in silence, the shorter one looking slightly from above as sharp steel gleamed in the dawn and the darkness under the hood scanned the prefect.

Hibari's gaze momentarily flitted over to the person's shoulders and then slightly upwards, unwillingly wondering if he will see anything there. As morning descended on the world, Hibari found that image from the warehouse, while still as sharp and present because he cannot ever forget what he saw, becoming more and more alike to a dream. A vision. Maybe... Maybe it really had just been a trick of light, because neither herbivores nor carnivores have wings, after all. They can't. They can't have wings.

As Hibari blinked and his sight blurred for just an instant, a ray of sun reached out from the horizon and the wind picked up slightly and then, for a flitting fraction of moment, feathery shapes flared white in gigantic arches folding down and then it was all gone.

Leaving just that.

An extremely small kid wearing an orange hoodie.

Another beat of silence passed and then the smaller figure slowly reached down to a pocket from which the tangerine flag was showing slightly, and pulled the cloth out into the light.

He then dangled the cloth in front of himself, quite cheekily passing on the message of exactly who won this round, which made Hibari's irritation spike as his eyes narrowed and flashed an angry glare.

"Nasty herbivore..." He growled as the other one drew back hastily, displaying a laughable clumsiness when he almost toppled off the wall and stuffed the flag back into his pocket as he steered himself upright. The dignity and the mysterious aura he seemed to carry at night was evaporating with every moment passing as more light crept into the skies.

"Oi, herbivore."

Hibari scoffed when the other boy – it really became apparent now, because no grown up or female would stand like that and his physique only proved as such – slightly inclined his head quizzically.

Kyouya deadpanned.

"You are aware that school starts soon."

It amused the prefect to no end to watch the famed Kaze no Neko, the fastest and most graceful free runner in Yoru's society whom he hadn't caught in the night that passed – he _will_ correct such a fluke certainly, when the next game comes – stumble and scramble to snatch out a mobile phone from his pocket. Once the screen lit, the boy let out something akin to a shriek and, gulping audibly enough for Hibari to hear, slowly raimed his head to stare intensely at the prefect.

Heels flashing in insane speed, the boy shot along the wall and, performing an exquisite double flip, lazy vaulted over the railings and disappeared into the streets of Namimori.

Hibari watched him go, and for what must've been for the very first time, he didn't feel the urge to bite the herbivore to death. Instead, he was contemplating things he saw today and things that he was reminded of.

Hibari Kyouya was a stubborn person and he wouldn't ask anyone of their whereabouts directly.

He had suspicions. He was a carnivore; he wasn't stupid like other herbivores.

So when Sawada Tsunayoshi, black circles under his eyes and a yawn stuck in his throat, came to school two minutes late that very day, the prefect and head of the Disciplinary Comittee Hibari Kyouya welcomed him by pulling the boy up by the scruff of his uniform and aiming a tonfa at his head.

Only to find that the boy slipped out and left his jacket in Hibari's hand while he ran into the school.

And the chase resumed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** If it helps, I had so much fun writing this chapter :D To be completely honest, this is my little baby that I've been writing since November. I hope you liked it as much as I did, and believe me, I usually do not like what I write.

I hope you find Kyouya at least at some times in character because I honestly wanted to make him like that. Just imagine that when he was younger, he wasn't as, uh, closed up and more considerate, if possible? And not as fast as Tsuna though devilishly strong nevertheless? I mean, he'd still be violent and sociopathic and scary stuff, but just a bit more open to some particular people? Tsu-kun is a fluffball and even Hibari knows it.

Regarding Tsuna, just imagine what would have been if he was happier with his life? I find this a plausible version of a Tsuna who found something fun in his life which resulted in a few changes that were the reasons to his Dame-iness. Consequentially, his self-esteem and engrained fear of bullies isn't present and you know how adorable Tsu-kun can be when he's happy. Hence his personality here. Plus, I suck at writing manga/anime!Tsuna 'cause it feels unnatural to insert so many shrieks and 'hiiiieee's into one paragraph. And about how he avoids Hibari like he's a strong person – I haven't said a word about Tsuna's fighting skills because he has none, being of the belief that free-running implies no violence. If he tried to go on the offensive, he'd loose in seconds, just how Hibari esteemed. I'm just saying that while Hibari is very strong, and faster than any person his age or ten years older, he still can't match Tsuna's strongest technique in this fic – his speed. So while Tsuna has no known weaknesses to force him to stop running, he's practically untouchable because he doesn't have a reason to stand and wait for 'kamikorosu, herbivore'.

I really really hope you like this chapter because this is one of those I put an actual lot of effort – not that I don't put effort in other ones, but this was harder to write but more satisfying – and I really wanted to write this kind of stuff. I'm a closet wing!fic fan, hence many references here. Also, obviously this chapter isn't the whole story to Tsuna's background. I was thinking where this has to be placed in the plot and I actually had this written for some time but it never felt quite finished so yeah. I think now it's finished.

I am also very sorry for not updating this in so long.

*cries in tumblr*


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